St. Paul leaders urge residents to vote ‘yes’ on civil fines ballot question

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - With early voting underway, St. Paul leaders are encouraging residents to vote in favor of a ballot initiative that would allow the city to use civil fines, instead of solely relying on criminal citations, to enforce local ordinances. 

City of St. Paul ballot question

Local perspective:

St. Paul leaders and politicians held a press conference Monday morning on the "Vote Yes for a Fairer St. Paul" campaign to highlight the importance of city ballot question No. 1. 

The Administrative Citations initiative, if approved, would help grant authority for the city to issue civil fines for violations instead of only relying on criminal citations. 

"Unlike many other Minnesota cities, which can use both civil and criminal penalties to enforce ordinances, St. Paul can only use criminal penalties. For everyday residents who commit minor infractions, this approach is too heavy-handed," a press release from the city reads. "On the other hand, ordinances to protect tenants and workers from abuse and wage theft all too often go unenforced because the wealthy can easily dodge and delay the criminal process."

The proposed change, which received a unanimous 7-0 vote from the City Council in late 2024 with the support of Mayor Carter, aims to create a more balanced system and avoid overcriminalization. 

"We end up having the choice of either do nothing or file a criminal penalty. That limits our hands, because obviously there's a lot of those places where it doesn't feel appropriate to put something on someone's criminal record. But there's still something we need to be able to do," explained Mayor Melvin Carter. 

Early voting can be done in person through Monday, Nov. 3. Polling locations can be found here.